


Rekindling: A Snow Queen Retelling

by Elle_Lavender



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Multi, Series
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-10
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-12 23:36:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12970896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elle_Lavender/pseuds/Elle_Lavender
Summary: A reimagining of the Snow Queen that continues her story after the events of the original fairy tale. It takes the characters and plot elements from the Hans Christian Anderson tale but veers off in its own direction later.





	1. Chapter 1

The Snow Queen watched the land glide past her, a hand on her chin, her eyes glazed over in disinterest. The enchanted birds pulled her carriage away from the green lands of the south and into the wind-bitten land, covered in a bone white sheet of snow.

The cold was familiar, comforting. The monarch thought she’d grown immune to the jeers and curses of the townspeople. She even took an odd delight in a hapless farmer futilely waving an axe in her direction. However, now, she felt a dull, persistent ache in her chest.

The Queen smiled sardonically. That boy was changing her. 

She sensed when the glass shards made their way into the boy’s eye and heart. The birds change directions according to her desires. Before she could finish her thought, they were headed to a modestly populated village. It reminded her of a distant dream.

The boy was overly talkative and bratty, as most children were in her opinion. However, when she looked into his cold and distant eyes, she invited him to her castle. 

Every day, the boy told her trivial facts about his hometown and its inhabitants. Other times, he showed off what he learned at school, or described the games he played during the winter. She smiled in faint encouragement, urging him to continue. It made her feel nostalgic for half-remembered moments of joy and simple days in a far-off land.

She sensed life … people … in her domain. Tightly gripping the sides of her icy carriage, the Snow Queen glass eyes darted about in confusion. A stranger entered her castle.

Ordering the enchanted birds to fly ahead, the Queen stepped out of the carriage and stretched her arms to the sky. Her hands and arms turned to snowflakes. The transformation snaked down her entire body until she was the snow drifting in the raging winds.

Once she reached the castle, the snowdrops coalesced into the Snow Queen. Everything seemed normal from the outside, but she could hear something faint stirring in the heart of her castle.

As the Queen paced uneasily the icy halls, she heard voices. A young girl tugged fretfully on the boy’s sleeve. Hidden behind a pillar, the Snow Queen listened to their whispers.

“We have to leave now,” the girl insisted.

The Snow Queen mused that this must be the girl he mentioned so often in his stories of home. The boy looked different now. His eyes were no longer distant and cold. He was no longer like winter, no longer the same as her.

“Kai,” she said sternly, emerging from the pillar. “Who is this? Where are you going?”

The two children huddled together. The boy replied in a weak, desperate voice.

“Home,” the boy whispered with fearful determination.

“I see,” she said resignedly. “I thought this was your home.” She stumbled to her throne, rubbing her icicle-like fingers on her forehead.

“Your Majesty?” He approached her cautiously.

“Go!” She slumped into her chair. A weary, human gesture that took her by surprise. “Please … you should be where you belong.” She gently waved him towards the girl. The boy belonged to the human world, as she once had.

The girl stared at her with fear, but also pity. In her centuries walking the earth as winter incarnate, no one looked at her in that manner. The Queen was familiar with fear, hatred and even stoicism. But never pity. 

The girl hurriedly led the boy from the castle. They didn’t look back as they ran to the outside world.

The Snow Queen watched the doorway for a long time until she finally stepped off her thrown. She looked longingly past the children, to something she couldn’t quite understand. The Queen tossed her crown to the ice floor as if it were a filthy piece of garbage.

She wandered from her castle in slow, awkward steps, not realizing the army of ice monsters were melting before her. The Queen walked miles in a fierce storm, aimless and confused.

The Snow Queen pulled her coat tight around her small frame, feeling the cold for the first time in longer than she could remember. She had only born the long luxuriant white fur for the sake of appearance before. It helped give her an ethereal mystique that made mortals look before her with awe and dread.

However, now she stumbled awkwardly in stormy winds and thick white layers of snow until finally collapsing.

***

A foreign warmth encased the Snow Queen. The crackling of burning wood woke her. beside her. She sat up on a soft couch that felt as though it were stuffed with feathers. A wet cloth dropped from her forehead onto her lap. She was covered by a thick, cotton blanket.

Sliding from the couch, she took in her surroundings. It was a compact, cosy little cottage, stuffed with books cauldrons and an assortment of candles that carried the aroma of spring.

The Snow Queen fumbled to a nearby table. Staring down at a large bowel of water sitting at the edge of the table, she almost jumped back I alarm. She didn’t recognise the person reflected in the water. Her porcelain white hair had turned burnt umber tresses. Her steely, frost blue eyes that had melted into a deep, oaken brown.

“How?” Even her voice sounded like someone else's.

“How indeed,” a bemused voice said the cottage doorway. A tall, sturdy woman with greying hair stepped inside. She carried a wicker basket filled with an assortment of food. The former queen felt a strange pang of hunger. She met the even and attentive gaze of the stranger. “Welcome to my home. We have so much to talk about.”


	2. Discoveries

Drenched in colour and wearing a simple green and brown gown, the former queen stared blankly at the stranger. Her sterile white world once protected her from the world like a sturdy shield. Now melted, she was dirty, frail and all too mortal.

“Why … am I here?” was the only question out of dozens swirling through her mind that she could articulate.

“I found you after returning from visiting a friend. I could hardly believe I’d run into the Snow Queen herself!” The woman entered the threshold of the cottage, depositing her wicker basket on the kitchen bench.

“I’m not sure that’s who I am anymore … or who I ever was.”

“Why don’t we sit down and try to figure this out together?” She leaned towards the two candles in the middle of the table, lighting them with a tap of her finger on the wick.

“You’re a witch?”

“I’m a Methodist. I’m also Shar. I’d wager that you don’t have a name other than your title?”

“I couldn’t even tell you that.”

“I see. Well, for now, I’ll call you another word for queen. Are you all right with Reanna?”

“Reanna? It doesn’t sound so bad,” she shrugged, still feeling disoriented. An unfamiliar gesture, and probably another relic of her past. 

“You didn’t start to change until I brought you home.” Shar observed off-handedly.

“You’re taking all of this in stride,” Reanna said, holding her head in her hands. The world felt as though it were engaged in a slow deliberate spin.

“Oh, I’ve seen many strange things in my time. Though, I admit you are on the extreme scale of oddness.”

“Thanks.”

Reanna muttered.

“You’re welcome. Can I get you a glass of water?” Her throat was dry. It seemed as though magic and apathy had sustained her before.

“I think I need something to drink.”

“You do. And food. However, first, I’d like you to come outside when you’re finished. I want to test a theory. I’m certain that I’m I usually am.” Shar said with a discreet grin.

“I’m starting to think you’re the strangest thing I’ve encountered.” Reanna gulped down her water in one go.

“You have no idea how true that is. Come!” Shar waved for Reanna to follow her out of the threshold.

The cottage lied deep in a forest, surrounded by thick, tall oaks.

The earth beneath Reanna’s feet was moist and prickly, tripping her up.

“Careful, you’re part of the world again. It will take time to adjust.” Shar caught Reanna by the hand before she fell.

“I was numb to everything. But something inside me fought it. And now I’m here.”

“Yes, but I think something of The Snow Queen might yet remain with you.”

“What do you mean?” The prospect that she may not have completely lost her old self-was comforting.

“See that oak there? I’d like you to try to remove all the leaves.”

“By hand?”

“Of course not! With magic, woman!”

“I see. You think I still have my magic?”

“Magic that powerful doesn’t usually fade. Concentrate on the leaves, imagine them falling down.”

Reanna stared down the oak tree in defiance. She closed her eyes a moment, willing the leaves to fall down. When she opened them, the leaves remained, blowing slightly in the wind, as if in gentle mockery.

“Maybe I don’t have it anymore?”

“Try extending your hands, put your life force into removing the leaves.” Shar observed attentively from her perch on an old tree stump.

Reanna did so, closing her eyes once more. She drew her hands down a swift motion. When she looked to the tree, every leaf was encased in thick ice.

“You haven’t lost your touch! Just as I suspected!” Shar rose from her seat, giving a round of hearty applause.

“You can say you were right on this occasion!” For the first time in memory, she gave a genuine smile. Shar rose from her seat and applauded.

“Yes, and many others. We’ll have to figure out what to do with you now.”

“Do you think the Methodist could teach me magic? It’s not as focused as it once was. Before it was just the magic of snow and ice … I want to know more.” Reanna felt the bite of the cold as she ran her fingers down the iced leaves.

“And what would you do with that magic?”

“Use it to find out what's going on, of course.”


	3. Pathways

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A visitor sheds a little more light on The Snow Queen's real identity.

“Can’t believe I agreed to this,” Reanna muttered under her breath as she ground herbs alongside Shar. The muscles in her arms began to ache from grinding the thyme in her pestal. It’s earthen, woody musk stunned Reanna’s previously dulled senses. 

“This was your idea. So, I believe that is my line,” Shar countered with a dry smirk. 

“I know this is necessary for understanding magic. I suppose it just isn’t as glamorous as I’m used to.”

“I am sorry, your Highness. Perhaps we could find you servants to take the burden off you.” Shar kept a sharp focus on her work. Reanna sometimes paused in her grinding to watch the deft movements of her calloused hands on the mortar, Shar’s herbs far more finely crushed than her own.

“Okay, okay. You’ve made your point, Master,” she playfully nudged the older woman.

“Master? I do like the sound of that.” 

Loud, measured knocks on the cottage door disrupted their banter. 

Shar opened her door to a small, dark, hunched-over man with a twisted Cherrywood cane. He reached up to embrace Shar.

“You’re looking well dear. I’ve been meaning to pay you a visit for quite some time now.” He spoke in a rolling, sophisticated, yet gentle tone. 

“It’s always good to see you Gaven. Reanna, this the friend I told you I was visiting when I found you.”

Reanna, abandoned her pestal and grinder, scuffling to the entrance. 

“A pleasure to meet you, sir.” Reanna held out her hand with a practiced stiffness and formality. 

“The pleasure is all mine, Madam,” Gaven said with an equal amount pomp and kissed her hand.

“Being in the presence of nobility is exhausting,” Shar rolled her eyes, beginning man inside. Shar gestured for both of them to sit around the table, and she began preparing tea. 

“It’s been a long time since I called myself nobility, but I can still put on some of the airs and graces,” Gaven said with a weary smile.  
“You were a noble?” Reanna asked.

“Several lifetimes ago,” Gaven said in between sips of tea. “Hardly worth mentioning. Lately, I’ve come across something I believe concerns you.”   
“Me?”

“I may not be a noble anymore, but I do keep my ears and eyes open to the goings on in the land. Friends and connections alike have told me about small shards of glass in the eyes and hearts of many, from fisherman to dukes.” 

“You mean, like the boy, Reanna took in?” Shar interrupted. 

“It was more like a kidnapping.” Reanna corrected dryly, staring down at the unfamiliar reflection in her ginger tea. “Ancient spirits just do what they like.”

“But that is just the thing, isn’t it? What if you were like the people ensnared by the glass?” Gaven asked eagerly. 

“What … you mean those images I see?”

It makes sense, doesn’t it?” Gaven contemplated while leaning back in his chair. “You find a child like you, who prompts you to remember who you were. That’s why you’re not the Snow Queen anymore.”

Reanna and Shar looked at one another in a state of confusion. 

“But … how? When it was so long ago?” Reanna suddenly wanted to push away the possibility, even though his words made all too much sense.   
“They say a long, long time ago, a demon made a mirror that shattered into pieces. They floated down to earth, and into the hearts and minds of some unfortunate folk. You were probably one of the first to fall victim to the curse.” 

“Gaven? May I talk to you outside for a moment.” Shar finally said. She wore a false grin and spoke with forced politeness. 

“Of course, Shar.” Gaven cleared his throat and shifted awkwardly in his seat before rising from his chair and shuffling out the door.

Shar promptly shut the door behind her. Reanna heard muffled shouts on the other side.   
“I know what you’re going to say, Shar –”

“Then I’d like to know why you thought that was good idea? She wasn’t ready to hear something like that!”   
Reanna rose from her seat and busied herself around the house. She heard Gaven muttering apologies all the while. She’d returned to grinding herbs by the time the two of them came back inside. 

“It was a pleasure to finally meet you. I hope to see you again soon. All the best!” He waved his walking cane heartily in good-bye, tottering off into the depths of the forest.   
Shar stood in the doorway, exchanging a brief, awkward glance with Reanna before turning her head away.

“If you were going to yell that loud, you needn’t have shut the door,” Reanna said in a clipped tone.

“He shouldn’t have brought it up. Not now.” Shar slumped into the chair by the fireside. Fatigue was rare for Shar and Reanna thought weariness looked almost unnatural on the woman. 

“You’ve done a lot for me Shar.” Reanna stood, her gaze steady. “But I’m not a child who needs your protection.” She made her way up the creaking stairs to the spare room, and firmly closed the door behind her. 

Reanna flopped onto her feather bed. Gaven confirmed what her mind told her for years. 

She’d lost herself, like the boy. The only difference was no one had travelled to the ends of the earth to take her back. But if there was someone still out there, she would find out.   
Reanna drifted to sleep. The Snow Queen never slept, but Reanna did and often. According to Shar snored so loud, people could hear it for miles. The sights and sounds, crept into her dreams, once again. 

Voices and fractured memories performed a restless dance in Reanna’s mind. Laughter, cries for her to follow on a garden path, blurred faces, and patchy images of a cobblestone cottage encircled by trees with scarlet red apples hanging from them.   
This was home. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reanna woke from her sleep, groggy and disoriented. She fumbled down the rickety staircase. Shar was lost in her crochet work, rhythmically rocking in her chair by the fireplace.

“I see you’ve finished with the herbs,” Reanna commented lightly, walking by the kitchen. She perched on a stool next to Shar, and observed the slow-burning logs in crackling fire. 

“It was quicker to do it on my own.” Shar teased lightly, her smile weary. “I owe you an apology Reanna. You’re not a child, and it isn’t my place to dictate what you should and shouldn’t know.” 

Reanna merely nodded, still looking into the fire. “You should probably apologise to Gaven, too.”

“I was hard on him, wasn’t I?” Shar said with a rueful chuckle. 

The pair fell back into uncertain silence. 

“They come to me every night. Everything is … strange, and disjointed, but it’s real. It was all real, and I need to find them.

Shar rested a hand on the younger woman’s shoulder. “We’ll find them. I promise. We’ll piece together what we have, and see what we can do.”

“That would mean a lot to me, Shar.” The lump forming in her throat, another new sensation. 

“How about you stay with me a little longer, learn more magic, figure some more things out, then you can go on a search for your family?” 

Reanna looked up at Shar. “Thank you. There’s a lot I don’t understand right now. But I’m glad you’re here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We'll get more hints about Shar's identity next chapter.


End file.
